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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Man I Married by Shanna Hatfield

Today is the birthday of my husband, better known as Captain Cavedweller.

The above photo is one that makes my heart melt in about two seconds
flat into a puddle around my feet. I love the look on his face, the
fact his mother gave this photo into my keeping, and that CC stylishly paired cowboy boots with his circa 1975 shirt. I also love
that hair. He was known for doing his own barbering back in the day.

When I met CC, he was so different than other guys I knew. He liked
to stay out of the spotlight, he genuinely cared about others, and he
wasn’t embarrassed to hug his mom or his grandma. You know you’ve got a
keeper when he lets his grandma pinch his cheeks in front of his new
girlfriend or allows his mother to hug him without rolling his eyes or complaining.

Some of the things I most admire about CC include his ability to
break the tension in a room with a joke or a laugh. Rarely is anything
all about him. He can be completely exhausted, but if someone asks for
his help, he’ll see what he can do to provide assistance. He doesn’t
dwell in the negative or stew over things he can’t change. I recently
witnessed him take the high road when taking the lower road would have
been easier.

He has taught me to look beyond what is just in front of my face –
to see the stars twinkling in the night sky or the butterfly dancing
among summer’s fragrant blossoms.

CC holds open doors for me, brings me flowers “just
because,” and makes my world a little brighter just by sharing it with
me.

Although I’m sure it would embarrass him to acknowledge it, he
provides me with a wealth of inspiration for my romance novels. In my
stories, most of the guys are gentlemen. They treat women respectfully,
work hard, have fun, and do their best. They may not always get
everything right, but they try.

Rather like my Captain Cavedweller. He’s not perfect, but none of us
are. If you want to tally flaws, I’m pretty sure his are far, far
fewer than mine.

Which is why I love him so.

CC knows I’m a complete and total nut-job most of the time, yet he loves me anyway. He gives me time and space to be me. And he not only
encourages my dreams, he does what he can to support them and help them
become a reality.

I know his love is unconditional. I like to think he knows mine is
too. Unconditional and deeply grateful for the blessing of him in my
life. I don’t know how he manages it, but he melts my heart on a daily
basis, makes me laugh all the time and gives me more joy, friendship and love than I ever imagined possible.

Every year for his birthday, CC requests I make carrot cake. The recipe is one my grandma shared with me long before I met the boy I'd marry. I hope you'll enjoy it too! It's best served chilled and you can definitely make it a day ahead of time (or a week ahead and freeze it!).

A hopeless romantic with a
bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure, Shanna Hatfield is a best-selling
author of clean romantic fiction written with a healthy dose of humor. In
addition to blogging and eating too much chocolate, she is completely smitten
with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller. Shanna creates character-driven romances with realistic heroes and
heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the
era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have
been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without
being explicit in any way.”

Awww! What a sweetie. It's wonderful to hear about such a nice guy who obviously makes you so happy. I hope my sons are this kind of boyfriend/husband. I'd better check in with the women in their lives.

We have a few recipes that were handed down. In fact, last Christmas my daughter photocopied the notebook my grandma had collected with newspaper & magazine recipes, and had it bound to give everyone in the family.